[PeterWilliam]

Has anyone in here read Harbinger of Doom?

The ratings at amazon are dripping with praise (not that this really means anything), but I couldn't even find so much as a single hit on the author's last name here at sffworld.

Anyone with a review at all?

[Cranky Hamster]

I'd never heard of the guy, so I ran a quick search on Amazon. Cover screams "self-published," which the product details (listing the publisher as CreateSpace) seem to confirm. There's an excerpt, which is helpful, but I only read the first (half-)page and that, too, screams "self-published."

So... uh... given the horrors of that particular swamp, I cut off the investigation there.

[PeterWilliam]

Ah, fair enough.

[suciul]

Ah, fair enough.

I took a lot too and it seemed to be a 2 novella combo published by a small press - possible POD/self - and the excerpt was standard fare, nothing to excite me.

Regarding independent authors - whatever used to be called self-published, but these days there are so many ways of putting your work out, so unless you are published by a big-house, labels mean nothing - there are lots of books out there that are good and are put out by new small presses, the author, on Lulu...- good excerpt, good price and interesting subject and I am willing to try.

Sadly the Harbinger of Doom excerpt is not conducive for me trying it

[Myshkin]

I'd stay away from it. Not only because it's self published, but because of the shady marketing the author is doing. It seems a bit strange that a self published book would get so many 5-star reviews on amazon; add that to the fact that the author has created dozens of amazon lists with titles such as "40 best fantasy novels" and "25 greatest horror novels", all of which include his own self published book, and it's not hard to imagine where all those 5 star reviews came from.

[PeterWilliam]

I had wondered how on earth that made it's way into my 'recommendation' profile on Amazon. Lo, Mr. Thater, most foul and opprobrious miscreant, I charge thee with Amazon spammage!!!